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The DOH stop for Asia is exhausting
I’m surprised.
Can you clarify?The DOH stop for Asia is exhausting
I’m surprised.
Can you clarify?Neither the LON-DOH or the DOH-BKK or SIN etc etc leg is long enough for a good sleep. I personally far prefer not breaking the journey quite so much in half. Different people with different sleep preferences may feel different. Whilst historically a break via DOH has been good for points, bad for my levels of rest.
Going back to one of the earlier questions let’s say flying LHR-HEL on day 1 and HEL – XXX on Day 2
If the flight to HEL was cancelled meaning you missed the XXX flight then AY would still be responsible for rebooking you to XXX assuming this is all in the same booking.
If the LHR-HEL was merely delayed and didn’t impact the XXX flight then there would be no delay compensation because it’s measured by the entire trip not the individual legs.
Neither the LON-DOH or the DOH-BKK or SIN etc etc leg is long enough for a good sleep. I personally far prefer not breaking the journey quite so much in half.
Agreed.
I consider myself quite risk averse, but I’m flying LHR-HEL-ICN next month on separate (reward) tickets with a 3 hour layover in HEL.
I know that AY will check my luggage through to ICN. I know that I don’t need to clear passport control or security in HEL.
I’m on the 09:55 flight, and if it is cancelled there is a flight at 10:20, which I hope AY would put me on.
I’ve changed my 09:30 departure to 10:20 (arriving in Helsinki at 15:15).
To connect with the 17:45 departure to Kansai KIX.Separate tickets.
I’m well ‘ard.p.s. @BJ if the sofa suite turns out to be crap, you’re moving up a few places in my naughty book.
The DOH stop for Asia is exhausting
I’m surprised.
Can you clarify?Neither the LON-DOH or the DOH-BKK or SIN etc etc leg is long enough for a good sleep. I personally far prefer not breaking the journey quite so much in half. Different people with different sleep preferences may feel different. Whilst historically a break via DOH has been good for points, bad for my levels of rest.
Completely agree. Much prefer a short leg to European hub, then a long 12hr overnight. Much as qatar has great service changing planes at circa midnight is not restful.
2 1/2 hours with luggage is cutting it tight.
Need to check the AY bags drop off close time as there isn’t any sort of transfer station in baggage reclaim and bags can also be slow there!
But I think AY will through check on separate bookings.
And there is still quite a bit walking involved at HEL as well.
2 1/2 hours with luggage is cutting it tight.
Need to check the AY bags drop off close time as there isn’t any sort of transfer station in baggage reclaim and bags can also be slow there!
But I think AY will through check on separate bookings.
And there is still quite a bit walking involved at HEL as well.
Appreciated.
Finnair told me they’d be through checking luggage to KIX.
So I assume I’m not leaving airside in Helsinki.
Also, I thought I read elsewhere in this thread that the London arrival gate(s) is near the far east departures gates? Maybe I misread.But anyway, I’m feeling adventurous.
Just call me Avid Aston.The DOH stop for Asia is exhausting
I’m surprised.
Can you clarify?Neither the LON-DOH or the DOH-BKK or SIN etc etc leg is long enough for a good sleep. I personally far prefer not breaking the journey quite so much in half. Different people with different sleep preferences may feel different. Whilst historically a break via DOH has been good for points, bad for my levels of rest.
Completely agree. Much prefer a short leg to European hub, then a long 12hr overnight. Much as qatar has great service changing planes at circa midnight is not restful.
I agree with this. I really don’t enjoy changing flight in DOH. The only exception I would make is that if I got a cheap deal to NZ or Oz! We flew MAN-AKL for around £1700 when they first started flying from MAN.
Changing in DOH might not be ideal on night flights, but on the other hand, moving onto A321 in HEL after a long journey from Asia is not ideal either (some Asian flight times don’t work with A359 on HEL-LHR).
Changing in DOH might not be ideal on night flights, but on the other hand, moving onto A321 in HEL after a long journey from Asia is not ideal either (some Asian flight times don’t work with A359 on HEL-LHR).
True, valid point. Still, if I can arrive in HEL reasonably rested, goes my thinking, a few hours layover at the terminal (and that nice Platinum lounge) won’t be too awful. But you’re right, some of the trip durations are well over 24 hours, so choose carefully!
Great insight, it definitely helped to make our minds up. Thank you all for your input. Now I just need to hope that all of my preferred options will be available in the next few weeks.
2 1/2 hours with luggage is cutting it tight.
Need to check the AY bags drop off close time as there isn’t any sort of transfer station in baggage reclaim and bags can also be slow there!
But I think AY will through check on separate bookings.
And there is still quite a bit walking involved at HEL as well.
Appreciated.
Finnair told me they’d be through checking luggage to KIX.
So I assume I’m not leaving airside in Helsinki.
Also, I thought I read elsewhere in this thread that the London arrival gate(s) is near the far east departures gates? Maybe I misread.But anyway, I’m feeling adventurous.
Just call me Avid Aston.@Aston. You are correct. AY will check your luggage through to KIX. Two and a half hours should be more than enough. The minimum connection time at HEL is 40 minutes. Your only risk is that if the 10:20 flight to HEL was to be cancelled, there is no later flight that would get you there in time. Even on separate tickets, I would expect Finnair to get you on the next available flight to KIX.
(I would have booked the 10:20 flight from LHR if there had been availability in J, as its an A350. My flight to ICN is at 17:35)
Which lounge are you planning to visit at T3? I can’t decide between AA or BA for a final western breakfast.
@Aston. You are correct. AY will check your luggage through to KIX. Two and a half hours should be more than enough. The minimum connection time at HEL is 40 minutes. Your only risk is that if the 10:20 flight to HEL was to be cancelled, there is no later flight that would get you there in time. Even on separate tickets, I would expect Finnair to get you on the next available flight to KIX.
Thank you for the info.
Would Finnair genuinely put you on another longhaul outbound if your unprotected shorthaul inbound to Helsinki was delayed? Seems unnecessarily generous.Which lounge are you planning to visit at T3? I can’t decide between AA or BA for a final western breakfast.
I haven’t given it any thought TBH.
Never been to a Cathay or Qantas lounge. Assume I’ll have access due to flying out of Heathrow in J.Just a quick update – I managed to book Finnair flights 361 days ahead via BA call centre at midnight – AY from HEL was unbeatable 62k Avios + £28.8 pp to SE Asia in business! I’m going to stay overnight in HEL, and will try to use the Finnair voucher for the Scandic hotel at the airport. I’m quite confused by the 6 months validity though, so I’ll hold it for now.
@Aston. You are correct. AY will check your luggage through to KIX. Two and a half hours should be more than enough. The minimum connection time at HEL is 40 minutes. Your only risk is that if the 10:20 flight to HEL was to be cancelled, there is no later flight that would get you there in time. Even on separate tickets, I would expect Finnair to get you on the next available flight to KIX.
Thank you for the info.
Would Finnair genuinely put you on another longhaul outbound if your unprotected shorthaul inbound to Helsinki was delayed? Seems unnecessarily generous.AY would have zero obligation to put someone on separate tickets on to the next flight if they miss their original – no matter who or what caused the delay.
People doing these self connections with tight times need to double check what their insurance would cover in such a situation.
A couple of points.
At Hong Kong you can choose to check in luggage for your flight at numerous local train stations the night before. Miraculously it makes its way unaccompanied to your final destination.
Night flights via DOH sounded horrendous, until I actually did one. A few hours sleep then being awoken to change at DOH, which had me still tired enough to then sleep the second flight for even longer, worked surprisingly well. It actually worked better than having a longer sleep which would have been enough to keep me awake after a connection.
Just a quick update – I managed to book Finnair flights 361 days ahead via BA call centre at midnight – AY from HEL was unbeatable 62k Avios + £28.8 pp to SE Asia in business! I’m going to stay overnight in HEL, and will try to use the Finnair voucher for the Scandic hotel at the airport. I’m quite confused by the 6 months validity though, so I’ll hold it for now.
I like the sofa seat, and Finnair in general but have missed any info on the Scandic voucher, how do you get this?
On a Finnair A350 en route Phuket-HEL at the moment. I’m happy with the seat, food, drink supply, chilled fellow pax and crew. Adult children said they could have eaten 3 of the meals, but very impressed with HEL transfer on way out (gate 42-44) and like the house style. Internet a bit flaky, not as good as Malaysian and Qatar’s free Starlink if that matters.
@Metty Great to hear! Do you have any preferred seats on AY?
I was thinking 2A and 3A, as the bulkhead might have a bit more space, but I’m not sure if it’s too close to the galley.wife’s in 2A, it’s the toilet flush that is closer than the galley so that may be more of an issue if not earplugged. If she has any useful feedback will come back. I’m happy in 3A, crew do hourly runs with nibbles and seem quite happy to galley visits (the one behind us row 8 is where it happens)
Great, thank you!
@philuk I just did a toilet test, wife in 2A took headphones off and said yes the flush is audible but me clattering the door was more noisy. There’s a little shelf thing in front of 2A (above IFE screen against bulkhead) that 3A doesn’t have but it doesn’t seem too useful. I’d avoid 1DF as they are closer to the loo. There’s actually a cupboard between 2A and the toilet so not as proximate as I thought.
Cabin temp is warm, somewhere in between the freezing Qatar (use the quilt!) and any BA longhaul which results in dehydration. We’re ok as we travel with USB mini (6” diameter) John Lewis fans.
Given this is the second oldest A350 it is nice and clean, everything works and IFE is fine.
Crew only had 1 night in Phuket at The Slate as now daily, unlike the 6 night stay in November when flights are 1 or 2 a week.
@philuk We flew AY to BKK over Christmas/NY and thought the lounge style seats were great 🙂
I’d recommend being a bit further back however. Row 2 definitely too close to the toilet/galley traffic… we made the mistake of being in 1D/1H (centre pair) on our outbound and we noticed a bit of a ‘bouncy’ effect in the seats from the constant footfall!
Being in row 5 or 6 on the way back (can’t remember which) was MUCH better! Can’t comment on the bulkhead space element but generally found the footwell space more than adequate in the middle pairs…
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